Usage of lexical and grammatical transformations in translation

The conditions of oral translation impose a number of important restrictions on the translator's performance. Here the interpreter receives a fragment of the original only once and for a short period of time. His translation is also a one-time act with no possibility of any return to the original or any subsequent corrections. This creates additional problems and the users have sometimes; to be content with a lower level of equivalence. [19; 32]         There are two main kinds of oral translation - consecutive and simultaneous. In consecutive translation the translating starts after the original speech or some part of it has been completed. Here the interpreter's strategy and the final results depend, to a great extent, on the length of the segment to be translated. If the segment is just a sentence or two the interpreter closely follows the original speech. As often as not, however, the interpreter is expected to translate a long speech which has lasted for scores of minutes or even longer. In this case he has to remember a great number of messages and keep them in mind until he begins his translation. To make this possible the interpreter has to take notes of the original messages, various systems of notation having been suggested for the purpose. The study of, and practice in, such notation is the integral part of the interpreter's training as are special exercises to develop his memory. [14;107]   Sometimes the interpreter is set a time limit to give his rendering, which means that he will have to reduce his translation considerably, selecting and reproducing the most important parts of the original and dispensing with the rest.  This implies the ability to make a judgement on the relative value of various messages and to generalize or compress the received information. The interpreter must obviously be a good and quickwitted thinker.     In simultaneous interpretation the interpreter is supposed to be able to give his translation while the speaker is uttering the original message. This can be achieved with a special radio or telephone-type equipment. The interpreter receives the original speech through his earphones and simultaneously talks into the microphone which transmits his translation to the listeners. This type of translation involves a number of psycholinguistic problems, both of theoretical and practical nature.

CHAPTER II. USAGE OF LEXICAL AND GRAMMATICAL TRANSFORMATIONS IN TRANSLATION.

  2.1. The lexico-grammatical problems of transformation.

     The vocabulary of any language is so large and heterogeneous that not any translator, not even the native speaker can know all the words and distinguishes all their meanings. A vague knowledge of the text, the deep meaning hidden under the surface structure obliges the translator to be in constant contact with dictionaries, because they do translators in estimate service in understanding the text more clearly.             The right choice of the word for a complete transformation of the meaning of the word in the text is one of the complicated objectives in the translation process. The difficulty of this task is conditioned by the complex nature of the word and its versatile and semantic value. The word as a lexical unit in English and Russian languages don’t always coincide. Too often one word may correspond a composite word or a whole word combination of English. For example: “карусель – merry-go-round” or may happen vice-versa. Another example: “to stare – пристально смотреть”.          As it’s generally known the word expresses the notion of a substance or the phenomenon of the reality, the whole complex of forms and meaning. There are a logical meaning, an emotional meaning and the named meaning. Very often even English monosemantic word doesn’t coincide with the usage of the Russian words and as the result it’s translated into Russian by different words. For example: “a young child – маленький ребёнок; a young man ––человек; a young criminal –неопытный преступник; the night was young – ночь ещё только наступила.”   In searching for the necessary word translator applies usually synonymic role in the native language. For example: She was very brave about it.    The first two meanings of this word don’t evidently fit the present case. Therefore, every translator is up to select and enlarges number of synonyms. The meaning of the word “brave” is likely corresponds to. – Она очень мужественно перенесла это.”            While choosing the word out of synonymic role, it’s necessary to take into account not only the shades of the meaning, but also degree of intensity of meaning. The translator should always apply to the context to uncover the meaning of the word and suggest adequate translation in the process.      As we have very few absolute synonyms in the language that raise special objectives for a translator. Apart from that the synonyms are not always interchangeable: they are sometimes quite non-suitable. As we mentioned above the synonyms differ by their shade of meaning, degree of intensity, emotion coloring and affiliation to various layers of the dictionary. The English language is extremely reach in synonyms and as we know synonyms are used for strengthening the utterance and avoid any repetition.       Though identical in some cases the grammatical phenomena of any languages connected and conditioned by the laws of its development differ mostly from those of other languages which evoke certain difficulties in the process of translation both in the fields of morphology and syntax.      It is clear that the aim of translation is not to give a precise reproduction of the grammatical forms of the original. The aim is to convey the sense of original where the planes of expression of the Source Language (SL) and the Target Language (TL) do not formally coincide at all. Grammatical forms play an important role when they fulfill a certain stylistic function. Brevity, parallel arrangement and others directly or indirectly influence the sense or aesthetic aspect of the original, then the translator is obliged to seek for analogical means in the TL in order to achieve adequacy. Disparity between the structure of the source and target languages require grammatical and very often lexical transformations. The disparity in the grammatical structures of the English and Russian languages may be complete or partial. Complete non-coincidence is observed when a certain grammatical category of one language is absent in the other, for example, gerund is a category inherent to English, but there are also cases when a category is present in both languages, but they do not fully coincide in content or another example, the category of number which is present in both of them, but the use of singular and plural do not always coincide. For example: “To prevent a thermonuclear war should be the supreme duty of every person of goodwill. –Не допускать развязывания термоядерной войны – первейшая обязанность всех людей доброй воли.”           In the following example we have plural in English but singular in Russian: “Attentions of the demonstrators against racialism later turned to South Africa House where most of the ground floor windows were smashed. – Затем участники демонстрации против расизма обратили своё внимание на зданиe представительства Южной Африки, у которого почти все окна нижнего этажа были разбиты.”           Sometimes a grammatical category of English is broader that of Russian . For example, the Past Indefinite Tense form of English is broader than the Past Tenses in Russian. It may correspond to the past tenses of all Russian verbs of all aspects and voices, therefore is conveyed into Russian in different ways: 1) “The marchers got within ten yards of their object, and then the police pushed them back, cutting the demonstration into two”. 2) “As the mounted policemen pushed, there was a crush against the opposite side of the road and a plate glass window was broken”.            The verb “to push” is encountered in both of these two sentences, but in both cases the Past Indefinite is translated differently:       1) “Демонстранты почти подошли к своей цели, оставалось каких-либо десять ярдов, но полиция оттеснила их, разделив на две части.     2) “Когда конная полиция начала теснить демонстрантов, из-за образования у противоположного тротуара давки было разбито зеркальное окно.             One reveals those cases of partial correspondence when the given grammatical categories exist in both languages, but they correspond not in all their forms, for instance, let’s take the English participle. There is no perfect form of participle in Russian and no past participle of intransitive verbs in English.   Thus, all the enumerated (the absence of corresponding forms, partial correspondence, difference in the character and others) call forth the necessity of grammatical transformations which are the following: transposition, replacement, addition and omission.           Transposition arises as a result of difference in the structures of sentences in the SL and the TL. Example: A general plan was operated by West German reactionaries to rehabilitate Nazi Criminals. – В Западной Германии реакционерами проводился в жизнь широкий план реабилитации фашистских преступников.            Here transposition is also connected with the use of indefinite article with the subject. But it is very often caused by the subject, especially if it is expressed by a large group of words or a whole sentence. Example: “A big wave of workers – skilled and unskilled, men and women, manual and non-manual for higher wages and equal pay, for shorter hours and a greater participation in shaping the environment at work has been unleashed in Britain. –В Англии поднялась мощная волна выступлений всех групп рабочих – квалифицированных и неквалифицированных, мужчин и женщин, работников физического и умственного труда, требующих повышения заработной платы и равной оплаты труда, сокращения рабочего дня и большего участия в деле улучшения условий работы.”         Pure transposition is rarely met which is also evident from the example above. It is usually followed by other types of transformation namely by replacement of parts of speech, by addition of words and lexical replacement. For example: “It was a common criticism of Faulkner, particularly in Britain, that he was a writer of unreal nightmares. – Фолкнера обычно критиковали, особенно в Англии, за то, что он описывал нереальные кошмары.    Besides the restructuring of the sentence, the translation required the replacement of the type of the subject and parts of speech: “it was a common criticism – обычно критиковали; that he was a writer – что он описывал”.  Replacement of the parts of speech is caused by different reasons: by difference in the type of subjects, by difference of corresponding part of speech with desired lexical meaning, requirements of combinability and difference in the usage of words. The above given example is a good illustration of it. Replacement of the type of subject here is conditioned by the requirements of combinability. And it must also be noted that the volume of meaning of the word “writer” as well as usage is broader than that of Russian “писатель”.     As we have already said replacement of parts of speech is also caused by pure lexical reasons for example, by the absence of the corresponding meaning for a word in Russian. For instance: “In a display of loathsome servility the Foreign Secretary backed the US denials of the bombings of North Vietnam, speaking in parliament of December 19.” “The English-Russian Dictionary” edited by V.K.Muller gives the following meanings for “display” as a noun:    1) “развёртывание перед глазами, выставлять, показывать (товары и т.п.), проявлять (храбрость и т.п.)”;        2) “выставка, выставление себя на показ, хвастовство”. But none of these meanings correspond the meaning of “display” in this context. In order to convey its meaning more exactly and adequately the translator is obliged to appeal to the meaning of the verb “display”. Prepositional group in a display can not be conveyed into Russian by a corresponding prepositional group, therefore, the translator appeals to grammatical and lexical transformation at the same time. “Выступая в парламенте 19 декабря, министр иностранных дел проявил отвратительное низкопоклонство перед Америкой, поддержав утверждение, что бомбардировки Северного Вьетнама не имели места.     As we see from the given example, addition and omission are always followed by other types of transformations.        It is also necessary in translation as the omitted words often turn to be needless in Russian and perceived pleonasms. For example: “The storm was terrible while it lasted. – Буря была ужасная.” The subordinate clause “пока она продолжалась –is quite needless and therefore omitted in Russian translation.   It must be noted that in the process of transformation there are such methods as replacement of subordination by coordination and vice versa, breaking and joining up of sentences in translation.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

2.2. The use of translation transformations in the process of translating English text clippincs.  

   Actualization of some potential grammatical meanings typical of different language types and verbalization of various conceptual matters as a result of cognitive modeling mechanisms which favour  correlation at the lingual or paralingual levels of the languages in questions reflect their more in-depth study and are research objectives for translation theory and practice. Translation as an extremely complicated process involves different pragmatic, psychological, cross-cultural, linguistic and methodological factors, considers interference and transposition processes, structural and grammatical correlation specifying plurilingual conceptual basis, lexical-semantic autonomy [4, 10-13]. Furthermore, there appear interference and transposition processes resulting in isomorphic or allomorphic features of different language types. Besides, while considering peculiarities of translating text clippings and their messages, different types of translation correlations with identical meaning, partial equivalent meaning, hypo-hyperonymic translation equivalents, socio-pragmatic and cross-cultural equivalents are envisaged. Typological analysis of translation transformations in the original and translation text clippings testifies to a specific individual choice of language units at different levels (lexical, morphological, syntactical). They reflect complicated logical and grammatical sequences f avouring the appearing of the original different units of open and closed language layers, their adapting to a language, morphological, syntactic and stylistic means used in the translation process (lexical specification, various types of transformation at different levels, functional transposition, etc.). Translation transformations are analyzed as lexico-semantic, structural and functional adequate means of covering different associate correlative and informative relationships in the original and translated text clippings, fixing results of cognitive activity of a man, accomplishing emotional and aesthetic influence. The objective for a translator is to таке an ample use of translation transformations, whose interpretation does not need only the acknowledgement of interlinking form, semantics, function, and information nucleus of constituents, but also the considering of interlocutors' intention, peculiarities of the "code" they use, Channel of communication. It is a process when a text appears to be unchanged, but the "adjoining" one is being created in another language [1,6]. Outlining various transformations, we treat some units which vary in their grammatical structure and lexical meaning, and are characterized by the same content plane and means of performing identical communicative f unction in the given context [2,3].

   Considering lexical, grammatical, and stylistic peculiarities of translating English text clippings, we analyze different transformation means:

1)Changing word order, which results in rearranging the order of words. For example:            I but I don't f eel like going into it, if you want to know the truth [14,3];

   Та як хочете знати правду, я не маю охоти закопуватись у  той мотлох [9,4];

Stradlater kept whistling "Song of India" while he shaved [14, 28]; Голячись, Стредлейтер насвистував "Індіанську пісеньку" [9, 25].

       2)Addition as а lexico-grammatical transf ormation resulting in enlarging the amount of words, phrases, parts of a sentence. They are words of three language layers, including substance names, process names, primary and secondary property names, different kinds of replacive morphemes and function 
words. Forexample:

It's terrible [14,18]; Просто жах господній [9,16];

He always looked all right, Stradlater, but for instance... [14, 29];

Вигляд він мав завжди пристойний, цей чортяка Стредлейтер [9,25].

        3) Elliptic transformation resulting in elliptical deletion of some words, phrases, sentence parts, etc.           The most frequent words deleted from some sentence patterns while translating are possessive pronouns, adjectives. The process takes place while translating from English into Ukrainian and visa versa as а 
result of difference in the structural types of synthetic and analytical languages. For example:

They'd looked like they had big noses or their ears stuck out [14, 29];

To начебто ніс великуватий, то вуха стирчать, то ще щось [9, 25].

4)Using some equivalents with partial meaning, hypo-hyperonymic translation equivalents, contextual equivalents, socio-pragmatic, and cross-cultural equivalents.             They are characterized by generalization, antonymous translation, interpretation (if the meaning of an English-expression is too 
specific or vague, and other lexical means are used while translating them into the Ukrainian language). For example:

a) antonymous translation:

Take it easy [14, 36]; Ну, бувай [9, 31].

b) interpretation:

...the old bull [14, 15]; ...сім мішків вовни [9,14].

5)Complex transformation which combines two or more transformation types.

   Translation of lexis, morphological, syntactical structures has succeeded when their transformation analogues and contextual modifications resume an adequate reaction of the recipient, and parameters of adequacy of translation. There are some parameters of adequacy of translation:

1) parameters of adequacy of transmitting the semantic Information;

2) parameters of adequacy of transmitting the emotional-evaluative  information;

3) parameters of adequacy of transmitting the expressive information;

4) parameters of adequacy of transmitting the aesthetic Information.

     An ample use of compensation transformation means in translation from English into Ukrainian is of great frequency in fiction. Thus, some elliptic words, phrases, sentences correspond to some correlative means of the Ukrainian language which satisfу parameters of adequacy of translation. While translating some terms, slang (Jargon) lexis there appears a primary task for a translator: to таке a shift in the semantic, expressive, and emotive word meaning very slight, leaving out its stylistic coloring. But if this stylistic coloring is of primary value for the original, then it has a great importance either for the plot or character. Therefore, it should be emphasized in the translation. For example:

     I am not going to tell you mу whole goddam autobiography or anything  [14, 3];      

     Та  я не збираюсь описувати тут усю свою триклятущу біографію [9,4].

     I am just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas just before I got pretty run-down and had to соте out here and take it easy [14,3];

     Я тільки розповім оту ідіотську історію, що сталася зі мною на Різдво - це до того, як я мало не врізав дуба і мене притарабанили сюди, щоб я трохи  оклигав [9,4].

     We encounter а frequent use of compensation means while rendering into Ukrainian non-standard, grammatically deficient speech, which characterizes a character. For example:

     "C'mon, c'mon," -1 said right out [14,7]; "Та швидше, швидше не," - мало не гукав я вголос [9, 7].

     "Who-belongs this?"-Ackley said [14, 24]; "Це чиє"? - спитав Еклі       [9, 20].

     Get'em а second, willya? [14, 25]; Дістань на хвильку, га? [9, 22].

     Where'dja get that hat? [14,31]; Де ти допяв таку шапку? [9, 27]

     But in the original the use of such means fulfils a very important communicative goal.

     One of the types of complex transformations is antonymous translation. Antonymous translation is of ten the best (or if not the only) way of transmitting semantic, structural, and stylistic peculiarities of text clippings:

     Take your time - не поспішай [3, 538]; Take it easy - не хвилюйся [3, 538];

     Mind your own business - не твоє діло [3, 342]; Tokeepone's head - не розгубитися [3, 551];

     То  have clean hands in the water — не мати ніякого відношення до якоїсь справи [3,550].

     If an English word or a phrase is rendered by means of antonymous translation, used in the original in the negative form, the translation will have an affirmative form:

     Don't sit up, I’ll be late [14, 34]; Не чекайте на мене, лягайте спати [9, 34].

I could hardly move ту fingers at all [14, 7];... а пальцями вже й не поворухну [9, 7].

     Consequently, an affirmative construction "I could hardly move" in the text of the original is transformed by means of the antonymous translation into the Ukrainian construction: "Вже й не поворухну".

     А very frequent use of antonymous translation is encountered while translating parasitological units. In the English language there are many set expressions, the content of which can be rendered (without loss of idiomatic character) only by a contrary notion. For example:

     He has a ready tongue - він за словом в кишеню не лізе [3, 552];

     No time like the present - лови момент [3,549].

     Non-motivated Substitution of any morphological form or a syntactical structure by a functionally inconsistent linguistic form involves the recipient in the inadequate environment (linguistic or extra linguistic), and causes considerable discrepancy in communication.

     In the process of translating English text clippings we should also consider specific features of potentially motivated and non-motivated lexis; structural and semantic peculiarities of sentences, combinational and non-combinational textual relations, referential text properties (conventional and non-conventional use of language signs in the texts and their socio-pragmatic value); adequate interpreting of semantic features of language units by means of heterogeneous language structures; lexical-semantic autonomy of text constituents.

     Thus, analyzing different forms of translation transformations we envisaged such means as inverted word order, addition, elliptic transformation, equivalent Substitution with partial meaning, hypo-hyperonymic translation equivalents, socio-pragmatic and cross-cultural equivalents, complex transformation types. The prospects for future research will cover the investigation of outer and inner interference and transposition factors, highlighting isomorphic or allomorphic peculiarities of different language structures which are either heterogeneous or cognate. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

CONCLUSION

     The translation is the multifaceted phenomenon and some aspects of it can be the subjects of the research of different sciences. In the frames of the science of translation psychological, literature critical, ethnographical and other points of translation as well as the history of translation in one or other country are being studied. According to the subject of research we use the knowledge of the psychology of translation, the theory of art and literary translation, ethnographical science of translation, historical science of translation and so on. The main place in the modern translation belongs to linguistic translation, which studies the translation as linguistic phenomenon. The different kinds of translation complement each other and strive to detailed description of the activity of the translation.            The theory of translation puts forward the following tasks:    1. To open and describe the common linguistic basis of translation, that is to show which peculiarities of linguistic systems and regularities of the language operation are the basis of the translating process, make this process possible and determine its character and borders;         2. To determine the translation as the subject of the linguistic research, to show its difference from the other kinds of linguistic mediation;    3. To work out the basis of classification of kinds of the translating activity;  4. To open the essence of the translating equivalence as the basis of the communicative identity of the original texts and the translation;    5. To work out the common principles and the peculiarities of construction of the peculiar and special translation theories for the different combinations of languages;             6. To work out the common principles of the translation process as actions of a translator of transforming the original text to the translating text;    7. To open the influence on the translating process of pragmatic and social linguistic factors;           8. To determine the idea “the translating norm” and to work out the principles.            The translation of texts will give an exact meaning of the source text. Some deviations can be made due to the peculiarities of target language or stylistic issue. It is very important to prevent the loss of meaningful information contained in the source text.             It is clear that the aim of translation is not to give a precise reproduction of the grammatical forms of the original. The aim is to convey the sense of original where the planes of expression of the Source Language (SL) and the Target Language (TL) do not formally coincide at all. Grammatical forms play an important role when they fulfill a certain stylistic function.

 
 
 

THE LIST OF LITERATURE

1. Fathy A. Osman. Senior interpreter/translator, IMF, Washington, DC

2. In other words - a course book on translation. Mona Baker, London and New York, 1992.

3. The Craft of Translation, John Biguenet & Rainer Schulte, The University of Chicago Press.

4. Translation features, Basnett-McGuire, New York Publishing house 1980.

5. A course book on Military Translation, Ministry of Defense of the USSR, Moscow 1962.

6. Translation difficulties, T.R. Levitskaya & A.M. Fitterman, «International Relations» Publishing house, Moscow 1976.

7. Difficulties of translation from English into Russian, Zrajevskaya L.M. & Belyaeva, Moscow Publishing House, 1972.

8. Translation and linguistics, Schweitzer A.D.

9. English Grammar, L.S. Barhudarov & D.A. Schteling, Moscow 1965.

10. Exercise book on translation of humanitarian texts, Malchevskaya, Saint Petersburg 1980.

11. America and Russian and the Cold War, Walter LaFeber, 6^th Edition, Cornell University 1991.

12. Comparative Politics, Washington State University, 1996.

13. International Conflict Cooperation and Management, Slippery Rock University, Pennsylvania, 2000.